Supporters of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir protest in Saida, South Lebanon, on Feb. 26, 2023. (Courtesy of: Muntasser Abdallah)
BEIRUT — Supporters of Salafist jihadist sheikh Ahmad al-Assir, who is serving a de facto life sentence for his role in deadly clashes in 2013 in the Abra neighborhood of Saida, South Lebanon, demonstrated Sunday afternoon in front of the Hariri mosque at the northern entrance of the city to demand his release.
Holding up pictures of Assir, the protesters once again demanded that he and the rest of the detainees arrested in the case be released, according to our correspondent in the region.
Assir was sentenced to death in late September 2017 for clashes in June 2013 between Islamists led by the preacher and the Lebanese Army which left 18 soldiers and 11 militiamen dead.
Lebanon has not carried out any executions since 2004.
Some of Assir's companions were sentenced to 10 years of hard labor. Last August, the military court also sentenced Assir to to 20 years of hard labor for fighting in Bhanine in Northern Lebanon in 2014 against the Lebanese Army.
The cleric was arrested on Aug. 15, 2015 at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut while attempting to flee the country in disguise.
Supporters of the sheikh regularly demonstrate in Saida to demand his release. A sit-in in solidarity with him was held in mid-February in front of the Beirut Justice Palace.
Additional reporting by Muntasser Abdallah